Bear in mind that the filthy corrupt scumbag George Ryan has only 1 year (thus far) of his 6 1/2 sentence. He's in his early 70s but in relatively good health. What people seem to forget is that Ryan remains as DEFIANT and UNREPENTANT at ever, insisting that he had nothing to do with the 9+ deaths (including the six Willis children) that occurred in highway accidents due to him awarding driver's licenses to unqualified illegal aliens, and continues to claim he was railroaded and had no idea that everyone under him was handing out illegal licenses and funneling the bribe money to him.
WORSE, George Ryan is so incredibly ARROGANT that he thinks the justice system should take into account his "record" as Governor and free him based on his years of "public service" to Illinois. What service? Passing the biggest "fee" increase in state history after lying during the campaign and saying "no new taxes"? Passing the biggest pork barrel spending orgy in state history ("Illinois FIRST") after lying during the campaign and saying he would "keep a tight lid on spending"? Appointing Jesse Jackson to run the state's "Kidcare" program? Going on a taxpayer funded trip to Cuba and sucking up to Fidel Castro (in defiance of the U.S. Constitution clearly barring states from engaging in foreign trade agreements without consent of Congress)? Going to the Mexican border with Gray Davis to meet Vicente Fox and support his citizens invading our country? Vetoing the bipartisan bill to end taxpayer funding of abortion on demand? Holding the state legislature hostage in "special session" until they passed "reasonable" gun control measures? Or his pardon of all 156 murderers on Illinois death row?
Even though George Ryan is one the worst RINOs in modern history and a favorite celeb cause of the left, I have little doubt if he were pardoned, the media outside Illinois would report it as Bush "helping out his criminal Republican buddies" and doing it as "payback" for George Ryan's token "endorsement" of Bush for President back in 2000. Plus as soon as George got out, the left would take him under their wing and try to "salvage" poor George who's been left "improvised" and "broken" by "the system" ("they sought to silence him for speaking the truth!"), and make him a highly paid celebrity speaker on some international "America is racist and must abolish the death penalty" tour
George Ryan is a first class, unremorseful arrogant SOB who thinks Illinoisans owe him. This scum needs to stay behind bars and serve out his sentence as an example to the world of what happens to corrupt lying politicians -- advanced age or not.
I'll start a vanity thread in December alerting freepers to the potential Ryan pardon. Bush better keep him behind bars on Jan. 20, 2009.
Typo... meant to say he’s only SERVED one year of his 6 1/2 year sentence. He still has 5 1/2 years to go.